Mostly on a whim – in desperate search of the warm sun – we booked some cheap flights to Cabo Verde, a small island nation off the coast of west Africa. Granted, it was a long way for too short a time, but, the adventure was great. We flew to Sal and stayed in Santa Maria. Cabo Verde is a bit more desolate than we expected: Sal is effectively a desert island, and it was very windy.
Santa Maria is right on the beach, and the water was beautiful. We spent the next day exploring town. Porto Antigo (our hotel) had this sandy cove protected by seawalls, right next to a large pool. We tanned and swam, watching the boats go by. Later in the day, we got drinks on the beach (caipirinhas!), and then walked the Santa Maria pier at sunset, where the fishmongers work in the day.
Unfortunately, we had a bit of a flight issue, because our airline Cabo Verde Airlines had to stop flying and our flight was cancelled, so they re-booked us on a different airline (Binter) for the next day. We were put up in a resort instead of a hotel in Santa Maria. While comfortable, we were so glad that we didn’t stay in one. It was soul-wrenching, to be honest. We almost missed our flight the next day also because Binter didn’t pick us up at the resort like they said they would.
Anyway, we eventually got to Sao Vincente. We took a taxi to Mindelo and, with our bags in tow all day, walked around. It was SO WINDY. Much windier than Santa Maria. So windy, that it wasn’t even very enjoyable to be outside. Mindelo was pretty small, but we had a great lunch and then found the beach to relax a bit. We caught our ferry, grabbed some seats, and were on our way to the main destination: Santo Antao! The boat had a lovely moment where a group of guys sang and played guitar with beers in hand. It was sweet.
